Chris Childs: Welcome to the Team!

Not to get too personal, but I’ve always looked up to Chris. Not knowing him, only knowing of him, kept him as this larger than life rider.

That was solidified after seeing him, in person, years ago at the Cumberland Trails. I didn’t put two and two together, until after asking a couple other riders who it was.

Chris…of course it was Chris, who else rides like that?

We’re stoked to have spent a couple long weekends over the course of 2018, riding spots, and gathering memories: the good times that solidify lasting connections.

Chris is on another plane, but his modesty always brings him right back to earth, which makes you appreciate him that much more.

It’s hard to not become friends with him after your first session together.

After doing several trips with Chris this year, we felt that he was a perfect fit to join the Profile Family.

Honored is an understatement…welcome aboard!

-Matt Coplon-

Ride anything. Always.

1. We (The Profile Crew) are a huge fan of your riding style. Just all around dialed, encompassing anything put in front of you.i

But we know you’re very selective of what you’re most stoked on.

What inspires you, and what is it that really makes you feel like you’re moving forward?

Is it a new spot? A new move? A combo of both?

What makes that ticker, tick?

Chris: That means a lot, thanks Profile crew. I’m stoked to be on board!

Inspiration comes from a few different things. The people that we get to session and cruise with to the spots we come across. It’s always sick to share a spot and session it, feeding off the momentum being built from lap to lap as we sort something out or just bang it out. Granted, I’m not that jaw dropping flat ledge rider but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to put some feebles down and enjoy the session.

Curbs to ledges, dirt to rails or gaps. It’s all the same as long as you’re riding and having fun and learning new things, even if its just dialing in basic shit like manual 180’s or in my case continuously learning how to fakie. I’ve do fakies but hell, will they ever get easier?

More of what makes the ticker tick is just being on the bike.

Pedaling.

Across town, up and around.

Bumping curbs and covering ground.

To me that can be just as satisfying as sessioning a spot and usually means finding a new spot or two.

Tricks aside, that’s not all there is when riding.

“Tricks aside, that’s not all there is when riding.” One Handed Tabe near Plymouth Rock.

2. Considering you grew up right over the border of Rhode Island, in Massachusetts, were there any New England riders that had an influence on you?

Chris: Man that’s a tough question. There’s so many dudes in the past that influenced my riding at an early age. From days at the tracks, to Impact riding around dudes that were grown men in my eyes (I was eight or nine, maybe ten?). Learning things like dropping in on real quarter pipes and dead sailors over a full size box jump to launching straight over 6ft coping to coping spines. The biggest piece of what I remember back then was when someone told me “ride the bike, don’t let it ride you” when I was struggling to muscle around my bike that weighed half as much as I did on a quarter pipe . I can’t remember who it was but, thank you!

To riders like Josh Kirtland, OX, Jay Souza, and Shaun Paulic sending suicide double bars and the best no foot cans to date.

Later on I spent a lot of time at Skaters Edge, Rye, and Haven, sessioning with dudes like Josh Perry, Brandon Christie, Jeff Dupaul, Denny, Mike Mastroni and too many others that just made every session sick.

“Ride the bike, don’t let it ride you.” Icepick in a New England Border Town.

3. It’s pretty impressive that you can fit in as much riding as you do considering you juggle two jobs at two different bike shops.

One shop is solely Road and MTB, the other (Circuit Bmx) solely bmx.

Do you have to put on two different professional selves between working at each shop

Chris: Really, I’m not working more than any one else with a day to day job, and to work at two different shops gives me the freedom to ride unlike most jobs people have.

Union Cycle was the first shop I worked at since high school, and Rick over here has always been super understanding about taking trips and getting sessions in. And when it comes to Circuit, Vic also gets it, being a rider himself and a lot of the time he’ll ask me first if I’d rather be out getting the session in. Couldn’t be more thankful for the position I’m in with these two shops.

Aside from the somewhat drastically different clientele, not much of my personality changes. Trying to be stoked on a kid’s parent leaning them towards a mountain bike rather than the toy bike that’s not practical gets under my skin a little but, hey, at least they’re riding.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the bike only needs to last them until they get their license and that’s a shame. We do have a lot of young MTB rippers that have been coming into the shop since they were young. All hope is not lost.

Indian Seat-grab at the Profile X Circuit Bmx Pump Track jam.

4. Profile is honored to help both you and Bobby Proctor, especially as we view friendship to be an imperative part of riding bmx. You two meeting is a pretty awesome and humbling story…How did that friendship come about?

Chris: It is pretty sick both of us being on the same team aside from our own, BCAVE. Bob has always been a powerhouse on his bike and down to just get a session in without needing much more than being on the bike and catching a few waves.

I think we met through a mutual friend, Jeff Dustin, some years back when Bobby was this shit head kid in girl jeans just as tight as mine. He had a beard by then, I’m sure at 13 or 14. Countless days and nights of shananigans and riding ventures with this dude and I don’t see that coming to an end just yet…